Positive actions against legal barriers have been successfully rewarded (June.2001)
On June 22, 2001, the House of Representatives passed bills to amend laws such as the Medical Practitioners Law, in order to review the "Disqualifying clauses for Disabilities", with which the government denies the issuance of professional licenses and certification in all cases to persons unable to see, to hear or to speak. This movement originally started when the government established the "Central Council for the Promotion of Measures for Disabled Persons" in December 1998.
In August 1999, the Council decided to review the "Disqualifying clauses for Disabilities", so that people with disabilities will not be unreasonably kept from participating in social activities". Under the new laws, people with disabilities are recognized as being competent to perform tasks with the assistance of brail, sign language and so on and they have greater opportunities to work.
However, it is only 7 laws (laws to grant licenses to cooks, dietitians, sanitation administrators, etc.) that completely abolish "Disqualifying clauses for Disabilities". Instead, the other 26 laws, such as the Medical Practitioner Law, stipulate that the government "may not grant" professional licenses or certificates to "people who are defined under the ordinances of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare as having difficulty carrying out tasks due to a physical or mental disorder."
In other words, granting licenses or certificates to people with disabilities is not totally denied, but still is only allowed with certain restrictions. Thus instead of "Disqualifying clauses for Disabilities" under the previous laws, relative disqualification remains under the new laws. In the case of pharmacists and dental technicians, people with deafness or speech disorders receive licenses as long as they pass the examination.
On the other hand, those with blindness or mental disorders have to undergo individual inspections by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, after passing the examinations and must be certified that they can carry out tasks properly. To be doctors, dentists, nurses, etc., it is stated in the related 7 laws that people with blindness, deafness, speech disorder or mental disorder must undergo individual inspections in all cases.
The following are some examples of the previous laws stipulating restrictive conditions and denying certification to doctors, dentists, nurses, public health nurses, pharmacists, emergency medical technicians and so on, to people with certain disabilities.
- Medical Practitioner Law Article 3 and the Dental Practitioner Law Article 3
The license shall not be given to a minor, a legally incompetent person, a legally quasi-incompetent person, a person unable to see, a person unable to hear or a person unable to speak. - Pharmacists Law Article 4
The license shall not be given to a person who falls under any of the following categories: A person unable to see, a person unable to hear, or a person unable to speak.
Under these circumstances, Kumi Hayase finally received a pharmacist's license on July 17, 2001. The government had denied a license to her, because she is deaf. Kumi Hayase graduated from a pharmaceutical university in Tokyo in 1998 and passed the national pharmacy licensing examination in April of the same year. However, her application for the license was rejected on the basis of the previous law with the absolute disqualification denying a pharmacist's license to a person unable to see, a person unable to hear, or a person unable to speak. Hayase and other deaf people appealed for the amendment of the law including "Disqualifying clauses for Disabilities" and as the appeal was successful, her license was finally issued.
Hayase commented after receiving a license from Chikara Sakaguchi, the Minister for Health, Labor and Welfare "Although I waited for three years, I do not think that I wasted my time. I am delighted that I could show children with disabilities that they now have the opportunity to work as professionals."